After months of inactivity and no progress we've decided to stop pursuing adoption at this time. We are comfortable with our decision and we all agree it's right for us. Although we are disappointed, we feel we've made the right decision for us. Now it's time to refocus our attention to Boo and our family.
Thank you for following our adoption journey!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Stale
Nothing worse than a stale blog. Unfortunately that is an apt description for our adoption as well. Nothing is happening. We are just waiting to be selected.
We've made peace with the idea that the adoption may not happen. We have been blessed with an amazing daughter. If the adoption is meant to be, it will happen. If not, that's ok too.
We'll just wait and see.
We've made peace with the idea that the adoption may not happen. We have been blessed with an amazing daughter. If the adoption is meant to be, it will happen. If not, that's ok too.
We'll just wait and see.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sad News
Well,
This match is not going to work out. We are sad and disappointed, but we also feel very secure in our decision not to pursue this child. We went in today to read his file and found out some background that does not match our family needs. It was so hard to say no, but we also have to think about Boo and her needs. I believe fully that things happen for a reason. I trust that the right child for our family is still out there waiting for us. It doesn't make the sting of disappointment better though.
So, from here we keep looking.
This match is not going to work out. We are sad and disappointed, but we also feel very secure in our decision not to pursue this child. We went in today to read his file and found out some background that does not match our family needs. It was so hard to say no, but we also have to think about Boo and her needs. I believe fully that things happen for a reason. I trust that the right child for our family is still out there waiting for us. It doesn't make the sting of disappointment better though.
So, from here we keep looking.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Today we met our future son
Wow. Words don't seem to be sufficient. How do you describe meeting a child that will probably become your son? He didn't know who we were of course. He had been playing on a water trampoline at the park's lake where the adoption picnic festival was hosted. He had caught a heel to his lip while bouncing on the trampoline and needed to get out of the water to get some ice. We saw it happen and used it as our "in" to talk to him where it wouldn't raise suspicion on why we might be so interested in him. He was easy to talk to and very tough; the busted lip didn't deter him from wanting to go back and keep playing.
He's a quiet guy, almost to the point of reserved, but yet he was easy to talk to and seemed to get along with other kids well. We wandered the park watching him play. We met with our Social Worker and and talked about the next steps. We met one of the case workers involved with Ogre. His caseworker has his file and Rod is hoping to get it to us this week! That's great news! The sooner we get the file and read it, the sooner he can be told about us and the sooner we can start our pre-placement visits.
It's been a whirl-wind day. My plane didn't arrive until 2 AM and we had to be in Katy by 10:30 AM. Poor Boo was beyond tired (they came to the airport to pick me up), so she didn't really get much chance to play with Ogre. But she did get to meet him. He is taller than she is even though he is a few months younger.
So we wait for Our Social Worker to contact us with when and where we can read the file! And then, we are on the way towards adoption!
He's a quiet guy, almost to the point of reserved, but yet he was easy to talk to and seemed to get along with other kids well. We wandered the park watching him play. We met with our Social Worker and and talked about the next steps. We met one of the case workers involved with Ogre. His caseworker has his file and Rod is hoping to get it to us this week! That's great news! The sooner we get the file and read it, the sooner he can be told about us and the sooner we can start our pre-placement visits.
It's been a whirl-wind day. My plane didn't arrive until 2 AM and we had to be in Katy by 10:30 AM. Poor Boo was beyond tired (they came to the airport to pick me up), so she didn't really get much chance to play with Ogre. But she did get to meet him. He is taller than she is even though he is a few months younger.
So we wait for Our Social Worker to contact us with when and where we can read the file! And then, we are on the way towards adoption!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Whoooo Hoooooo!!!
AND...... WE'VE BEEN MATCHED!!!
What a crazy week this has been!! I flew out for training at Ames on Sunday knowing full well that we had two matching opportunities this week. The fist opportunity was on Monday. I sat in class all day waiting to hear the results. I didn't have a good feeling and I was right. We weed not selected.
Then Wednesday we had another matching opportunity. I awoke with a great feeling about the day, but as the day wore on I got more and more nervous until I had convinced myself it wasn't going to happen (my usual defense mechanism against brutal disappointment.) About 2 hours after our social worker was to have presented us, I got the email. All I saw was the subject line "Great News". I TORE out of my classroom at full speed sprint to call our social worker! I was beside myself I was so excited!!!
He said he had a great feeling about it when we weren't selected Monday about the matching on Wednesday. We had all felt the best match was going to probably be our Wednesday match as this kiddo just sounds so much like us! Enjoys the same things, similar personality, etc... He is 2 1/2 months-ish younger than Boo! We're getting virtual twins!! Our Social Worker, Rod, told me all about Ogre and I tried to take it all in but honestly, I was so excited it was hard to pay attention.
There are many more steps where something could derail this whole process, but it's hard to think of Ogre as anything but our son already! Then Rod gave me the news, Ogre would be at an adoption event on Friday and could we come so we could meet him? Holy CROW!? I'm in CA!! So then begins the crazy flurry of emails and phone calls to my travel coordinator, my boss, the air lines, the rental cars, the hotels, etc... Long story short, I'll arrive back in Houston in the early morning on Friday, so I am able to go and meet him. I'll then fly back out to Ames on Sun. to resume class. Ogre will not know yet that we have been selected when we meet him because there is another step that must happen before they tell him and get his hopes up.
So, now what, you may ask. Well, CPS will provide us with his full history to read. Once we read it and agree we are still interested, Ogre will be told about us. Then we move on to a formal meeting and slowly after a few of those he'll come for a trial night with us and eventually a trial placement. After that, it takes about 6 months until the adoption is final! We are so hopeful in this process that Ogre's file doesn't hold too many surprises and that we can handle what is in there. I have a feeling this will be the most difficult read of my life.
Boo is handling this with a maturity WAY beyond her years. She is excited and nervous (ha, yah, me too!) In fact, it was her careful questioning of our social worker before the matching day that may have helped win over Ogre's caseworkers! Abbie came up with so many terrific questions for Rod to ask that the caseworkers were really impressed!
So, tomorrow is the big day for us. We'll get to meet him for the first time! I am so nervous - what do I say, how do I act, how do we begin fostering that relationship when he isn't even aware of who we are?!?! We'll figure it our of course, and it all just adds to the excitement we feel. We are getting SO close!! Wish us luck tomorrow!!
What a crazy week this has been!! I flew out for training at Ames on Sunday knowing full well that we had two matching opportunities this week. The fist opportunity was on Monday. I sat in class all day waiting to hear the results. I didn't have a good feeling and I was right. We weed not selected.
Then Wednesday we had another matching opportunity. I awoke with a great feeling about the day, but as the day wore on I got more and more nervous until I had convinced myself it wasn't going to happen (my usual defense mechanism against brutal disappointment.) About 2 hours after our social worker was to have presented us, I got the email. All I saw was the subject line "Great News". I TORE out of my classroom at full speed sprint to call our social worker! I was beside myself I was so excited!!!
He said he had a great feeling about it when we weren't selected Monday about the matching on Wednesday. We had all felt the best match was going to probably be our Wednesday match as this kiddo just sounds so much like us! Enjoys the same things, similar personality, etc... He is 2 1/2 months-ish younger than Boo! We're getting virtual twins!! Our Social Worker, Rod, told me all about Ogre and I tried to take it all in but honestly, I was so excited it was hard to pay attention.
There are many more steps where something could derail this whole process, but it's hard to think of Ogre as anything but our son already! Then Rod gave me the news, Ogre would be at an adoption event on Friday and could we come so we could meet him? Holy CROW!? I'm in CA!! So then begins the crazy flurry of emails and phone calls to my travel coordinator, my boss, the air lines, the rental cars, the hotels, etc... Long story short, I'll arrive back in Houston in the early morning on Friday, so I am able to go and meet him. I'll then fly back out to Ames on Sun. to resume class. Ogre will not know yet that we have been selected when we meet him because there is another step that must happen before they tell him and get his hopes up.
So, now what, you may ask. Well, CPS will provide us with his full history to read. Once we read it and agree we are still interested, Ogre will be told about us. Then we move on to a formal meeting and slowly after a few of those he'll come for a trial night with us and eventually a trial placement. After that, it takes about 6 months until the adoption is final! We are so hopeful in this process that Ogre's file doesn't hold too many surprises and that we can handle what is in there. I have a feeling this will be the most difficult read of my life.
Boo is handling this with a maturity WAY beyond her years. She is excited and nervous (ha, yah, me too!) In fact, it was her careful questioning of our social worker before the matching day that may have helped win over Ogre's caseworkers! Abbie came up with so many terrific questions for Rod to ask that the caseworkers were really impressed!
So, tomorrow is the big day for us. We'll get to meet him for the first time! I am so nervous - what do I say, how do I act, how do we begin fostering that relationship when he isn't even aware of who we are?!?! We'll figure it our of course, and it all just adds to the excitement we feel. We are getting SO close!! Wish us luck tomorrow!!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
And Again!
We were just notified that we we're selected as a candidate for yet another child. We are so excited! We are candidates for two great kids! This new candidate offer will have our social worker present to the child's case workers next Wednesday!
Our social worker said we should know the results of both candidacies next week! If we are selected for the first child before the presentation to the second child's case workers, we will not then subsequently present for the second child. Apparently you can be selected for only one at a time. It is amazing to think one of these two kids may be our new family member. Even once we are selected there is still quite a long process of learning more about each other, having our first meeting, our first sleep over and then a long trial run before the adoption becomes complete. So this is really just the beginning! But what an exciting beginning it is!
Next week is sure to be exciting! I'll keep you posted!
Our social worker said we should know the results of both candidacies next week! If we are selected for the first child before the presentation to the second child's case workers, we will not then subsequently present for the second child. Apparently you can be selected for only one at a time. It is amazing to think one of these two kids may be our new family member. Even once we are selected there is still quite a long process of learning more about each other, having our first meeting, our first sleep over and then a long trial run before the adoption becomes complete. So this is really just the beginning! But what an exciting beginning it is!
Next week is sure to be exciting! I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Movement!!!
Yipee!!! We have our first selection!!! We have been chosen as a candidate for a boy! We have no idea how many others have also been selected as a candidate. Our social worker will present us by phone to the child's caseworker and the others on the selection staff on June 13th. We'll know more sometime after that if we get to move on to the next step. Next steps could include a request for more information on us, a phone interview with us, providing us with more detailed information to review or perhaps even meeting the child.
We are so excited. This is the furthest in the process we have been to date. There are so many more steps in the process that this barely touches the tip of the iceburg, but it is still positive movement. And the child we were selected for is one we are VERY interested in. It is exciting to finally have some positive movement :-)
Boo is really excited. Our social worker asked us to provide questions for the staffing on the 13th. Boo came up with 8 of her own! And the questions were very thought provoking and mature. I was impressed at how well she is participating in this process. We have included her in most every step so that she feels control in her life and she is really stepping up to the plate. She is processing what it will mean in her life to have a sibbling. I am very proud of her.
So, as soon as I know more - I'll post back here!
We are so excited. This is the furthest in the process we have been to date. There are so many more steps in the process that this barely touches the tip of the iceburg, but it is still positive movement. And the child we were selected for is one we are VERY interested in. It is exciting to finally have some positive movement :-)
Boo is really excited. Our social worker asked us to provide questions for the staffing on the 13th. Boo came up with 8 of her own! And the questions were very thought provoking and mature. I was impressed at how well she is participating in this process. We have included her in most every step so that she feels control in her life and she is really stepping up to the plate. She is processing what it will mean in her life to have a sibbling. I am very proud of her.
So, as soon as I know more - I'll post back here!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Exercise in patience
Patience. Its such a simple word, yet so difficult in practice. We are still in the process of being matched with kids. In fact, we've only heard back from a small handful of the case workers for the kids we've submitted interest in. That said, we are at least on our way in this journey. As I learn more about the process, some of the methods seem a bit cold. You use this website to look at profiles of children and then submit interest forms. From there, the case workers review all the home studies and then choose the best fits. It can feel a bit like a compeition with the other prospecitve adoptive parents. As odd as that feels, I can't think of what a better method would be. Thus far, our social worker has been wonderful and responsive!! I am so impressed by him. He truely has the kids and our interests at heart. I am very thankful we found him and I am sure he will help us find the right fit for our family. I just wish I had better patience skills so the process doesn't feel so long.
In the mean time, Boo is doing really well. She is so excited by the idea of a sibbling. While she waits, she continues with her dance and swim teams. I can't believe she is almost done with elementary school!! Just one more month. She is looking so much older now its unreal. We are planning some fun things for her this summer since it might be her last as an only child!
Hopefuly next time I'll have more to report.
In the mean time, Boo is doing really well. She is so excited by the idea of a sibbling. While she waits, she continues with her dance and swim teams. I can't believe she is almost done with elementary school!! Just one more month. She is looking so much older now its unreal. We are planning some fun things for her this summer since it might be her last as an only child!
Hopefuly next time I'll have more to report.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
It's ON!!!
Our home study was approved today!!! We are now in the search for our Oger! Boo is excited, but I think the reality of having to share life with another kiddo in the house is beginning to set in. Boo is asking a lot of good questions.
We are using a CPS website that lists profiles of available kids. We can see if any of them might be a match and then we submit an interest to their case worker. From there, there are lots of exchanges of information before the case worker has collected enough information and interest inquiries from other parents. The case workers then choose from those inquiries whom to proceed down the process with. After that, we would get more information and have more information exchanges until we get to a point where we and the case worker both agree that a meeting with the child is in order. From there, we would have several meetings before we would have the child over for a sleep-over. In other words, this is a LONG process.
But, it is ON!!!
We are using a CPS website that lists profiles of available kids. We can see if any of them might be a match and then we submit an interest to their case worker. From there, there are lots of exchanges of information before the case worker has collected enough information and interest inquiries from other parents. The case workers then choose from those inquiries whom to proceed down the process with. After that, we would get more information and have more information exchanges until we get to a point where we and the case worker both agree that a meeting with the child is in order. From there, we would have several meetings before we would have the child over for a sleep-over. In other words, this is a LONG process.
But, it is ON!!!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Moving Along
The adoption process is moving along well! We have officially completed our training required by CPS. The training was really good - much of it I think all parents should be required to take regardless of adoption or birth. The classes included CPR, Water Safety, SIDs and many many more.
Our next step in the process will be to have the home visit by our social worker. We are busy readying our house to meet CPS's minimum requirements- lock boxes for medicine, fire extinguishers up and down stairs, etc... Our home visit is currently scheduled for next Sat - 1 week from today!
We are really excited! Things are moving much more smoothly now that we are doing a domestic adoption. I guess it was God's way of telling us we had been going down the wrong path for our family. We are getting really close to the point where we can begin the search for a child. I can't wait!
Our next step in the process will be to have the home visit by our social worker. We are busy readying our house to meet CPS's minimum requirements- lock boxes for medicine, fire extinguishers up and down stairs, etc... Our home visit is currently scheduled for next Sat - 1 week from today!
We are really excited! Things are moving much more smoothly now that we are doing a domestic adoption. I guess it was God's way of telling us we had been going down the wrong path for our family. We are getting really close to the point where we can begin the search for a child. I can't wait!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)